Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin has officially announced rookie Kenny Pickett as the team's starting quarterback moving forward. Just moments before his weekly press conference, the team tweeted out an updated depth chart, which listed Pickett as the starter. Minutes later, Tomlin officially announced it.
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Pickett will start his career off against the Buffalo Bills on the road in Week 5. Quite the challenge for a rookie, but after his second half performance to the New York Jets, he'll be ready. Tomlin was clear that the decision was made for both Mitch Trubisky's struggles, but also Pickett's readiness.
"Kenny will start this week. We made the change, obviously Mitch's performance was a component of the decision, but not the only component of the decision. I just want to be really clear there. Often times, a quarterback position gets too much credit, too much blame. We haven't moved the ball fluidly enough to our liking. We haven't put enough points on the board. The quarterback is a component of that, but not the only component."
Just like was the case in the game last year, Tomlin feels Pickett will provide a spark for the offense moving forward. While the rookie threw three interceptions in the Week 4 loss, he also led the team on two touchdown drives. Both of those drives ended in his running touchdowns from the 2022 first-round quarterback.
Not only did Pickett help the team move the ball better, but the playmakers were able to get the ball finally. George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth both had career-highs in receiving yards on the day, as Pickens finished with his first 100-yard game in his career. While Diontae Johnson finished the day with just two catches, getting the others involved should only help him become more open.
Credit: Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
This news isn't all that surprising after Tomlin benched Trubisky at halftime of the Jets game. At that point, it would have been basically impossible for the team to go back to the veteran moving forward. On Monday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that the Steelers were expected to move forward with Pickett as their starter. Now, it's official, the Kenny Pickett era is here, folks!
Yinz, how excited are you that Pickett will be the starter now? How do you think he will perform in his first career start? With the rookie as the starting QB, what do you think the team's record will be at the end of the season? Share your excitement, thoughts, and opinions in the comment section below, as well as on our social media sites!
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